The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) officially concludes its operations on Saturday, marking a milestone that, according to Raisedon Zenenga, Officer-in-Charge of UNTMIS, reflects “considerable progress made by Somalia since the early days of international support for the country’s recovery, even as significant challenges remain.”
Since the collapse of central state institutions and the outbreak of civil war in the early 1990s, Somalia has faced years of profound conflict, instability, and humanitarian crises. However, the nation has undergone a remarkable transformation over the decades, steadily rebuilding its foundations.
Raisedon Zenenga, Officer-in-Charge of UNTMIS, delivers remarks at a ceremony marking the closure of the mission.
The decades-long conflict triggered massive displacement, both internally and across borders. Compounding this, ongoing insecurity, contested electoral processes, constitutional reforms, and recurrent climate shocks—such as severe droughts and devastating floods—have continuously heightened humanitarian needs, posing formidable challenges to Somalia’s recovery efforts.
Somalia’s responsibility
Throughout this journey, successive UN political missions have accompanied Somalia through critical stages of peacebuilding and state-building, supporting Somali-led initiatives to restore governance, rebuild essential institutions, and foster national reconciliation.
As UNTMIS concludes its mandate, the responsibility for Somalia’s recovery now rests squarely on its national and federal institutions, which will be supported by UN agencies already active on the ground.
“Somalia today possesses robust national and federal institutions that did not exist when the UN’s political engagement first began. Significant progress has been achieved in state formation, political inclusion, constitutional processes, human rights frameworks, and the development of governance structures that enable authentic Somali-led decision-making,” noted Mr. Zenenga.
“However, continued engagement by the international community will remain vital to sustaining this progress and addressing outstanding priorities,” he added.
A member of staff of the World Food Programme (left) talks to a woman in a camp for people who were forced to flee their homes.
Humanitarian and development support
This ongoing partnership involves approximately 25 UN entities that continue to work across Somalia, delivering vital humanitarian and development support to communities in need.
In September, in the town of Balcad, the UN’s migration agency (IOM) helped revitalize a run-down vegetable market, bringing fresh opportunities to local vendors.
The market now features 56 sturdy stalls equipped with running water and solar lighting. Approximately 70 percent of these stalls were allocated to women-headed households, women-led businesses, and small local enterprises.
Elsewhere, Somalia’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF, launched national guidelines focused on the care of newborns, particularly those who are small, sick, or require specialized attention.
In Puntland, where nearly a million children remain out of school, the UN’s food agency (FAO) is supporting a school meals program that connects 1,330 local farmers and fisherfolk to schools serving 18,700 children. This initiative ensures that kids receive nutritious meals while providing sustainable income for local families.
In Baidoa, mine action experts from UNMAS assisted Somali authorities in training hundreds of students and teachers on how to identify and avoid explosive hazards.
A complex crisis
The UN’s humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) describes the situation in Somalia as one of the world’s most complex and protracted crises.
Conflict and climate shocks continuously feed into one another, creating a vicious cycle. Families who initially fled drought or fighting are frequently uprooted a second or third time by fresh floods or escalating violence.
This year, nearly 4.8 million Somalis—out of a total population of just under 20 million—require urgent humanitarian assistance.
Aid agencies have appealed for $852 million to reach 2.4 million people, representing only half of those in need. By mid-October, however, only about 35 percent of the required funding had been secured.
The UN Secretary-General has also emphasized the need for continued international support to address the persistent threat posed by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, and to facilitate Somalia’s transition toward a gradual, sustainable security framework.
Children are ferried across flood water in a plastic barrel in Hirshabelle State, Somalia.
Looking ahead, one of the most formidable challenges facing Somalia’s leaders after October is widespread poverty.
Addressing this issue will require stabilizing a highly fragile economy that currently relies heavily on subsistence farming, livestock, remittances sent home by relatives abroad, and pastoralism.
The country imports more than 90 percent of its essential goods, according to OCHA.
UN will remain
While UNTMIS is closing down, the United Nations is not leaving Somalia. Its humanitarian and development agencies remain on the ground, continuing to support the nation and its people.
“Today is not an end to the partnership between the United Nations and Somalia,” Deputy Special Representative Zenenga stated. “It marks the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another, deeper chapter.”
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